DanFonds Launches Frontier Hedge Funds

A Copenhagen based Cayman fund, DanFonds, is trying a novel approach to the hedge fund market by launching its ‘Frontier Markets Fund’, a hybrid between the public market hedge fund approach and the private equity model.

In a press call with Alex Akesson on Friday, CEO of DanFonds, Daniel Broby referred to 'peak oil', and the 'commodity super cycle' and also how the writing off of debt by the Paris club have opened the market for frontier funds.

"What we are seeing is generational change; the industrialisation of the final countries that had been left behind." Broby said, "These are not markets for the faint hearted. They are corrupt, illiquid and difficult to access. On the other hand, that is compensated for by the risk premium and the expected returns."

With a philosophy of 'Globalisation is just an extension of industrialisation' and that 'frontier markets are the next emerging markets', their website says that frontier markets are at the very edge of the investable public securities universe.

However, there is potential for high return. With a combined market capitalisation of around $1.7 trillion, frontier markets are in the early stages of development and growing towards entry into the emerging markets indices.

"You either believe in the opportunity or you do not. We don't try to convince investors. We mearly structure the best way to capture that opportunity." Broby concluded.

When asked to comment on the new fund launches, Broby's staff responded, "200 years ago California was a frontier market." said Alexandra Hayles, Country Analyst.

While Klaus Jeppesen, Head of Risk commented, "traditional risk models just don't work in these countries. You have to start with a blank spreadsheet." "There are plenty of opportunities in Francophone Africa. You just have to know where to look for them." Brice Beumo, Director of DanFonds finished.

Danfonds operates from two locations in Denmark, its operational offices in the center of Copenhagen and its registered offices in Martofte. It has also established access to offices in selected frontier market locations using the facilities of Regus Worldwide.

Hutch on the Park to Reopen

Hugh Hefner has reportedly signed an agreement with Agilo, the London hedge fund that owns a Sports Cafe on Haymarket in London’s West End according to the TimesOnline.

The Playboy Club in the capital is reportedly set to open in 2010 to offer gaming at roulette wheels and blackjack tables. The original Playboy club on Park Lane in Mayfair was closed 27 years ago after a police raid over suspected gambling irregularities, despite no subsequent evidence of wrongdoing.

“We are looking for opportunities around the world. London will be logical for us. We had some very good years there,” Times Online quoted Dick Rosenzweig, executive vice-president of Playboy and Hefner’’s right-hand man, as saying.

Playboy could win its licence in as little as two months after applying if it meets all the requirements.

The former London club opened opposite Hyde Park in 1966, six years after the first Playboy Club was launched in Chicago. For 15 years, the London club, on five floors, was a welcome distraction from worries such as the IRA, strikes and riots.

"Nicknamed "the Hutch on the Park", the London venue's clientele included actors Sean Connery, Michael Caine and Joan Collins, and footballer George Best, who married former bunny Angie MacDonald-Janes.

The club was run by Victor Lownes, an American who became the highest-paid executive in Britain. Lownes, now 80, married Marilyn Cole, a former playmate of the year. He said: "It was a huge success and ran like a dream. We had a discotheque in the basement, several restaurants, a VIP room and a casino with roulette and blackjack. The average bunny lasted two years and then married a millionaire.

Jeff Georgino, Playboy's senior vice-president, said: "We are actively looking at locations which are on the market in London. We would love to get a casino licence ... It all depends on that."

FRM Hires Award Winning Hong Kong Manager

Global fund of hedge funds (FOHF) group Financial Risk Management ('FRM'), has hired Au King-lun, MH, PhD, as Chief Executive Officer of FRM Hong Kong.

"The firm has long been known for its strength in serving institutions and for its deep expertise in hedge funds." Dr Au said, "Asian investors are increasing allocations to hedge funds because of the absolute, uncorrelated returns and flexible investment strategies they can offer. FRM is in a strong position to deliver performance and products for this important and growing investor base."

With offices in Europe, Asia, North America and Australia, the new Hong Kong office is an effort to expand business efforts in Japan and Korea.

Dr. Au will join in September from HSBC, where he has been working for the past 11 years, most recently as Head of Institutional Business in Asia Pacific.

FRM opened its Hong Kong office in May 2008, building on its significant presence in Asia, including offices in Tokyo and Sydney, opened in 2000 and 2001 respectively. As one of the largest independent fund of hedge fund groups, FRM manages over $15 billion in assets for institutions and other sophisticated investors, including approximately 300 pension funds worldwide.

Dr. Au currently serves as Chairman of the Hong Kong Securities Institute and is a previous Chairman of the HK Investment Funds Association. In July Dr. Au was awarded the Medal of Honour (MH) by the Hong Kong SAR Government for his valuable contributions to the securities and asset management industry.

Alex Akesson
Editor for HedgeCo LLC
Email: alex@hedgeco.net

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Hedge Fund Man Group Shows Positive Product Return

Global Hedge fund Man Group has increased their assets under management from $74.6 billion at 31 March 2008 to $79.5 billion at 30 June 2008.

"Demand for our fund products has remained strong, both from private investors and institutions, with sales in our first quarter to 30 June 2008 totalling $5.0 billion." Jon Aisbitt, Chairman of Man Group said in a statement, "This success in asset raising reflects the Group's broad geographic presence and the continued attraction of conservatively structured alternative investment products."

Overall product performance was positive, with AHL, Glenwood, Man Global Strategies, and RMF all showing positive returns. Redemptions for the three months to 30 June 2008 totaled $2.5 billion, of which private investor were $1.5 billion.

Man is one of the worlds largest alternative investment management business, originaly founded in 1783, Man is now ranked in the top 40 companies of the FTSE 100 Index with a market capitalisation of about $20 billion.

Activist Hedge Fund Told To Cease and Desist

A preliminary injunction has ordered two officers of activist hedge fund Costa Brava Partnership III LP of Boston to cease and desist, refraining from all contact with former, current and future auditors of Telos Corporation.

Costa Brava officers, Andrew R. Siegel and Seth W. Hamot, who sit on Telos' board of directors, were accused of making repeated threats of litigation against the company's last two independent auditors. Both auditors resigned their engagements with Telos as a result of the conduct of Hamot and Siegel even though neither auditor had found fault with Telos on any accounting issues.

The actions were seen by Telos as tactics to break up the company on order to secure redemption of their public preferred stock.

In his order, Judge Matricciani also wrote that "Telos is likely to demonstrate that their (Hamot and Siegel) conduct was not just wrongful, but unlawful." The judge stated that the communications of Hamot and Siegel with Reznick may have violated Sarbanes-Oxley section 303 and SEC Rule 13b2-2, "providing another basis for liability for tortious interference with business or economic relations."

Attorneys for Hamot and Siegel have said they will file an appeal of the preliminary injunction with the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland.

Hedge Funds Back MEVIO

Hedge funds Sequoia Capital, Sherpalo Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, and DAG Ventures were led by Crosslink Capital in investing $15 million in entertainment network MEVIO.

Adam Curry, co-founder and president of MEVIO. "MEVIO is building a full-scale entertainment network that incorporates all of the positive elements of traditional media along with the benefits of scale and insight offered by the Internet."

"The first wave of online video was a total failure for brand advertisers," said Ron Bloom, co-founder and chief executive officer, MEVIO. "In order to attract the billions of dollars of brand advertising spending that is still dedicated to television programming, online companies will have to provide audience and frequency at a scale to compete with traditional broadcast, and build it around brand-safe content that is relevant and entertaining. MEVIO is building that network."

In May of 2008, the company attracted over 9 million unique monthly visitors, up over 800 percent in the last twelve months. For the second quarter of 2008, MEVIO estimates page-views to exceed 140 million, up over 1,800 percent quarter over quarter. With the launch of its vertical entertainment networks, the company is exploring syndication opportunities that management believes will dramatically enhance MEVIO's already impressive reach.

Report: SA Hedge Funds Growing

A Hedgeweek Special Report for March 2008 reports the strengthening of the South African hedge fund industry from just a handful of funds with aproximately ZAR1.4 billion ($0.18 billion) in as recently as mid-2002, to more than 130 funds with at least ZAR26 billion ($3.35 billion) in assets under management in the last five years.

In the report by Simon Gray, he says, "Industry members predict that the current soaring growth rate will be maintained for some time, pointing to plentiful capacity available in existing funds and a level of allocation to alternative assets which remains well below those in other markets."

The constrictive rules governing the South African hedge fund industry has constrained investors from investing in alternatives in Africa, Gray reports, instead, investors have focused more on Asia and Latin America.

Gray predicts that factors are set to change to the benefit of South African managers, many of which are now developing the extended track records of success that conservative institutions are looking for.

"The industry is becoming broader and more sophisticated as established asset managers launch alternative products, and the dominance of equity long/short and market neutral strategies gradually diminishes while the asset share of multistrategy funds soars." Gray concluded.

Hedgeweek was launched in October 2002 and is part of the London-based Hedgemedia group, founded by financial publisher Sunil Gopalan and internet entrepreneur Oliver Bradley. Hedgeweek now reaches over 3,000 senior executives at hedge fund companies and investor groups worldwide.

GLG's Hiring Spree

Soon after the scheduled departure of several senior traders and executives was announced, hedge fund GLG Partners has begun hiring new experts to fill in the gap.

Experts such as as Galia Velimukhametova, Fabrice Bay, and most recently Driss Ben-Brahim, a star Goldman Sachs emerging markets trader. He is to manage and hopefuly expand GLG's $1.2 billion special situations portfolio.

Galia Velimukhametova is to join the hedge fund's London office as a Portfolio Manager. With extensive background in the area, Galia will focus on distressed situations. Galia joins GLG from King Street Capital, where she was a Managing Director and Member of the European Investment Committee.

Fabrice Bay was previously a Managing Director at DWS/Deutsche Asset Management in Frankfurt, his significant experience in managing global long-only and 130/30 portfolios will play an important role in driving forward GLG's offerings in these areas, according to GLG.

As of March 31, 2008, GLG manages a net AUM (assets under management) of over $24.0 billion. GLG's capital appreciation strategies target long-term capital appreciation through diversified portfolios of global equities and bonds.

Since its inception in 1995, GLG has built on the roots of its founders in the private wealth management industry to develop into one of the world's largest and most recognized alternative investment managers, while maintaining its tradition of client-focused product development and customer service.

Verify

Northern Trust to Manage Auda Hedge Assets

New York based fund manager, Auda Hedge LLC has selected Northern Trust to provide fund administration, custody, banking and foreign exchange services to its fund of hedge fund program, with assets in excess of US$1 billion.

In January 2008, Northern Trust announced a worldwide exclusive partnership with youDevise to provide enhanced fund of hedge fund data to the fund of hedge fund community via the Hedge Information Provider ("HIP") system.

"Funds-of-hedge-funds have become the route chosen by many institutional investors when accessing hedge funds." Wilson Leech, head of Northern Trust's Global Fund services group said, "By fully integrating HIP onto Northern Trust's global platform we will be able to deliver an enhanced reporting capability and reduce operational risk, enabling our clients to make decisions faster and more effectively."

The HIP is an online portfolio management system developed specifically for funds-of-hedge-funds. It considerably improves the timeliness of information that funds-of-hedge-fund managers receive from underlying hedge funds regarding hedge fund holdings, current value, performance, liquidity and hedging, as well as a detailed breakdown of assets and transactions. HIP makes it possible for funds-of-hedge-fund managers to see portfolio management data daily that, historically, was only available monthly.

Where Northern Trust's UK entities undertake regulated business, they are authorized and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Services Authority.

Interest Rates Top Swiss DMX Alternative Investment Indice

The DMX, Directional Markets Index, heads the list of investable Alternative Investment Indices provided by Alternative-Index Ltd, with a month-to-date performance of +0.71% and a stellar year-to-date performance of +16.61%. DMX is listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange.

The best performing sector for the DMX was the Interest Rates sector with a month-to-date attribution of +0.62%.

The DMX outperformed its peer, the FTSE Hedge Directional Index month-to-date by 2.13% (0.71% vs. -1.42%) and year-to-date by 21.42% (16.61% vs. -4.81%). The DMX also outperformed the MSCI Systematic Trading Index year-to-date by 12.17% (16.61% vs. 4.44%). The DMX's performance surpassed the HFRX Market Directional Index's performance month-to-date by 1.22% (0.71% vs. -0.51%) and year-to-date by 15.67% (16.61% vs. 0.94%).

Alternative-Index Ltd. is an Index specialist and provides investable Indices that represent the risk and return of investable alternative strategies and asset classes. The company is a 100% subsidiary of Swiss Alternative Investment expert Salus Alpha Group AG.

Dynamic Launches an Array Of Hedge Funds & FOHFs

Dynamic Funds ("Dynamic") has announced the launch of two global growth funds, the Dynamic Power Global Navigator Class and Dynamic Power Global Balanced Class.

The fund manager also launched a hedge fund of funds, the Dynamic Alternative Opportunities Fund, giving retail investors access to a basket of the Company's hedge fund products. Dynamic Alternative Opportunities Fund has the ability to invest in Dynamic hedge funds and closed-end funds, as well as externally managed hedge funds, private funds and other investment vehicles not generally available to the investing public.

"Dynamic Power Global Navigator Class is a go anywhere, do anything global growth fund," says Alexander Lane, VP and Portfolio Manager, "It offers investors exposure to global stocks with the safety profile of larger companies and the higher return profile of smaller companies."

The initial portfolio of the Dynamic Alternative Opportunities Fund will be composed of an approximately equal allocation of seven Dynamic hedge funds; the Power Hedge Fund, Alpha Performance Fund, Contrarian Fund, Power Emerging Markets Fund, Income Opportunities Fund, Strategic Value Fund, and Focus+ Alternative Fund.

The Dynamic Funds are managed by Goodman & Company, Investment Counsel Ltd., a subsidiary of DundeeWealth Inc. DundeeWealth is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Report Forecasts Funds Of Hedge Funds To Dominate European Market

According to a new report by DataMonitor, 'Hedge Funds in Europe 2008', the European hedge fund market is going through a period of growth but the extent of the mortgage-backed security crisis is still uncertain.

The report forecasts strong growth in funds of hedge funds over the next year, with less demand for single hedge funds according to 65% of asset managers in Europe.

Asset managers in Spain and Italy believe most strongly that the demand for funds of hedge funds will outstrip that for single hedge funds, followed by France, Germany and finally the UK.

Across the five core economies in Western Europe - France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK - institutional investors now dominate the market for hedge funds. On average, slightly more than two-thirds of asset managers confirmed that this group represents their biggest customer segment for hedge funds today.

40% of asset managers in Italy say mass market investors may also be put off by the price of hedge fund investment. In Spain, on the other hand, demand from mass market clients is being limited by competition from capital-protected and structured products and inadequate promotion of hedge fund products by banks and advisers.

DataMonitor, a provider of online database and analysis services for key industry sectors, has put out the report presenting views on the market for hedge fund investment based on a survey of 100 leading asset managers across Europe.

Covering mass market, high net worth and institutional customer groups, 'Hedge Funds in Europe 2008' is part of a series of reports looking at the market for alternative investments in Europe.

Investcorp's Emerging Hedge Fund Talent Fund Raises $2 Billion

Investcorp's hedge fund co-managers said they have raised over $2 billion for their Single Manager Platform. Debuted in 2005, the platform supports emerging talent in the hedge fund industry.

Deepak Gurnani, managing director and co-head of hedge funds said, "Reaching the $2 billion milestone is a testament to the quality of the managers who have partnered with us."

"We've tailored the program to the interests of sophisticated institutional investors that want to diversify their hedge fund holdings by including the industry's rising stars in their portfolios," Ibrahim Gharghour, managing director and co-head of hedge funds added.

Investcorp provides between $50 million and $100 million in seed capital to the managers along with support for marketing and ongoing risk monitoring to avoid style-drift and other operational concerns. Investcorp's hedge funds team of more than 100 professionals oversees approximately $8 billion in assets under management, of which approximately $2 billion is proprietary capital.

The Single Manager Platform is part of Investcorp's larger suite of hedge fund solutions, which includes fund of funds, customized portfolios and structured products. Today, it has more than 30 institutional investors in the platform, which comprises six managers with a range of investing strategies.

The six managers currently in the program are Cura Capital Management, a fixed income relative value manager based in New York, Interlachen Capital Group, a multi-strategy firm based in Minneapolis, Silverback Asset Management, a convertible arbitrage focused management firm based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Stoneworks Asset Management, a global macro investment platform based in London, Washington Corner Capital Management, a distressed and credit-based investment platform based in Florham Park, New Jersey and WMG Asia, an Asian long/short equity strategy management firm based in Hong Kong.

Hank Murphy is the head of development for the Single Manager Platform.

SGI Alternative Strategy Launch

Security Global Investors (SGI) announced a strategic initiative to intensify its capital raising efforts for alternative global equity product offerings.

SGI has been managing institutional assets since 1962 and currently has approximately $9 billion in assets under management, approximately $1 billion in global equity investment strategies. The global equity team manages a Global Long Only (GLO), A Global Long / Short Long-Biased (GLS), and is launching a new Global Market Neutral strategy (GMN) this year.

The company’s accelerated effort coincides with the hiring of industry veteran Sanjay Yodh to focus on the firm’s global alternative products. Yodh has more than a decade of institutional sales experience with J.P. Morgan and Deutsche Asset Management.

“We are a fundamental, research-driven team that employs a consistent, repeatable process. Our experience and focus on risk management makes SGI’s alternative products especially attractive for institutional investors in today’s volatile markets,” noted Yodh.

The performance of GLS, the transparency of the process and a deep 13-person investment team has garnered attention from hedge fund investors. John Boich, with more than 17 years experience in successfully managing global equity portfolios leads the team.

Boich spent eight years directing research and investment decisions for Montgomery Asset Management’s $4 billion global and international mandates. “We’ve always had a skilled team, a well-defined process, and competitive risk-adjusted performance track record,” Boich said.

6th Annual Hedge Fund Industry Awards

Winners of Alternative Investment News' 6th Annual Hedge Fund Industry Awards were announced on Wednesday evening June 25th at a black-tie dinner and ceremony at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City. The awards recognized hedge funds, fund of funds, consultants, endowments, foundations and corporate and public funds that stood out for excellence in alternatives investing during the year.

Nearly 500 leaders and luminaries from every facet of the industry were in attendance to see winners announced and awarded 'Oscar-Style'. Michael Steinhardt, a pioneer in the hedge fund world, and Phil Goldstein, Founder of Bulldog Investments were in attendance to accept their respective awards for Lifetime Achievement and Outstanding Contribution to the Industry.

Winners were awarded in nine other categories, and included Paulson & Co. for Hedge Fund Leader.

Also recognized and awarded were the 2008 Rising Stars of Hedge Funds, 20 up-and-coming, talented young professionals poised to be future leaders of the industry.

This year's award winners were as follows:

Hedge Fund Leader of the Year:
Paulson & Co.

Fund of Hedge Funds Leader of the Year:
Harcourt Investment Consulting

Emerging Manager of the Year:
Algebris Investments

Hedge Fund Launch of the Year:
AdultVest

Institutional Manager of the Year:
The Blackstone Group

Public Fund Investor of the Year:
Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Corporate Pension Fund of the Year:
Railway Pension Trustee Company

Nonprofit Investor of the Year:
Texas Christian University

Hedge Fund Consultant of the Year:
Jaeson Dubrovay, NEPC

Visit the awards website for additional information:
http://www.iialternatives.com/ain/2008awards/

EU Recommends a Tightening of Hedge Fund Transparency Laws

The EU Parliament has come up with new guidelines regarding hedge fund transparency,
'asset stripping' and proposed some investigative measures and rules so that companies are not left in the dark on the investment policies of hedge funds or private equity investors who buy up their shares.

They also want much more light to be shed on pay and bonus packaged for fund managers. The commission also asked that the EU address the issue of money laundering, specifically in the context of hedge and private equity funds.

MEPs in committee unanimously approved the report by Klaus-Heiner Lehne (EPP–ED, DE) which would - if approved by the plenary - become a formal request to the Commission to put forward EU legislation.

The EP committee proposes to oblige hedge funds and private equity funds to disclose and explain the companies whose shares they acquire or own, retail and institutional investors, prime brokers and supervisors - their investment policy and the associated risks.

The committee also asks the Commission to investigate the possibility to apply, to alternative investments, contract terms allowing for a clear limitation of risk, for measures to be taken if thresholds are exceeded, for a clear description of lock-up periods and for explicit conditions concerning cancellation and termination of investment contracts.

MEPs want the Commission to propose rules forbidding "asset stripping" by investors who misuse their financial power in a way that merely disadvantages the company acquired in the long term, without having any positive impact on its future - or the interests of employees, creditors and business partners. They therefore propose common EU rules to guarantee capital maintenance of companies.

Regarding private equity funds, Members in committee suggested, among several proposals, that the Commission should address the issue of irresponsible lending to private equity funds, where banks disclaim any responsibility for what the loan is used for and where the money that repays the loan comes from.

MFA Travels To China To Hold Alternative Investment Meetings

The Managed Funds Association MFA and CME Group (CME), a Strategic Partner member, recently arrived back from a jointly arranged trip to meet with Chinese government officials, policy makers and financial services representatives.

The MFA and CME co-sponsored a conference, "Global Markets and the Role of Alternative Investments" was held in June with the Tianjin Municipal People’s Government and China Foreign Exchange Administration Magazine.

"The conference agenda helped us to continue a dialogue about the important role of alternative investments in the capital markets and to strengthen relationships
in China as its economy and financial markets grow." Richard H. Baker, MFA President and CEO, said.

Members who participated in the conference included; Citadel Investment Group,
L.L.C.; Fairfield Greenwich Group (FGG); Harbinger Capital Partners Funds; Moore Capital Management, LLC; Tudor Investment Corporation; the D.E. Shaw Group; Paulson & Co., Inc.; and S.A.C. Capital Advisors, LLC.

"MFA’s visit to China is part of its ongoing international outreach with policy makers and its mission to provide information about the global alternative investment industry." MFA said.

MFA is the voice of the global alternative investment industry. Its members include
professionals in hedge funds, funds of funds and managed futures funds. MFA Members represent the majority of the largest hedge fund groups in the world who manage a substantial portion of the approximately $2 trillion invested in absolute return strategies.

Hedge Fund Nominees

AdultVest was nominated among others for the 'Hedge Fund Launch of the Year' Award, the alternative investment fund is the world’s first Investment Community designed specifically for the Adult Industry.

Other nominees include, Brevan Howard Asset Management, Citadel Investment Group, Odey Asset Management and Paulson & Co. for the 'Hedge Fund Leader of the Year' award.

Th winners will be celebrated 'Oscar-style' at a gala awards dinner and ceremony this evening, June 25th at Cipriani Wall Street, NYC. The award ceremony will be held in conjunction with Institutional Investor Conferences' Hedge Fund Investor Symposium, and will host more than 400 leaders in the hedge fund industry.

The 6th Annual Hedge Fund Industry Awards recognizes the hedge funds, fund of funds, endowments, foundations, and corporate and public pension funds that have stood out for their notable accomplishments in alternative investments during the past year.

Winners will be selected by the staff of Alternative Investment News and Institutional Investor Magazine.

Athamas Hedge Fund Launch

Athamas Capital, a Luxembourg domiciled alternative investment fund, has announced the launch of the Athamas Capital SICAV SIF Hedge Fund. (Specialised Investment Fund)

Launched on June 1st, the hedge fund´s strategy is to achieve an absolute return by investing in listed companies addressing the energy and environmental challenges, including; energy, alternative energy, agriculture, energy efficiency and environmental services.

With Goldman Sachas as prime broker, the Athamas Capital SICAV SIF Hedge Fund has EUR16.5 million ($25.5 million) in seed capital and is open to professional investors, high net worth individuals and institutional investors for a minimum investment of EUR250,000 (approximately $390,000). The target fund size for 2010 through 2012 is EUR50-100 million (approximately $77-154 million).

The hedge fund's strategy stems from the conviction that the energy and environmental sectors will be key in the 21st century due to the depletion of the global energy supply, rising demand, global warming issues raising awareness, as well as regulations and business initiatives to adapt and mitigate it.

Structured as an umbrella fund with four sub-funds, (some of which are yet to be launched) Athamas Capital is an alternative investment fund in the energy and environmental sector, trading mainly along the lines of; long/short equities, long/short listed or OTC derivatives, and futures on indices or commodities.

Athamas means; ("rich harvest"), the king of Orchomenos in Greek mythology, was the son of Eole. He was married first to the goddess Nephele (goddess of Clouds) with whom he had the twins Phrixus (driving rain) and Helle (bright light).

200K Hedge Funds for Children Fundraiser to Repeat

The fourth annual Hedge Funds Care Cayman (HFCC),“Open your heart to children benefit”, gala dinner is taking place this year in November at The Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman.

Last year, $254,000 was raised by HFCC for the Nadine Andreas Foster Home, the Cayman Islands Crisis Centre, the CAYS Foundation, the Ministry of Education and the Human Rights Commission.

FHCC is an alliance of the Cayman Islands hedge fund industry professionals devoted to raising funds for the prevention of child abuse and associated treatment initiatives.

The black-tie affair will feature a star-studded evening of glitz, glamour and entertainment. Highlights will include a champagne and cocktail reception, dinner and dancing, and a silent and live auction, featuring such items as sports dream getaway packages, exquisite jewellery, and sports memorabilia.

The Cayman Committee of Hearts has representation by Appleby, Butterfield Bank, CIBC, Citco, Deloitte, DMS Management, Ernst & Young, KPMG, Maples and Calder, Ogier, PWC, Rawlinson and Hunter, UBS and Walkers.

Diamond Fund To Launch In London

The first publicly listed fund investing in rare white and coloured diamonds, the 'diamond fund' is to be launched on the London Stock Exchange, according to news sources.

Diamond Circle Capital PLC hopes to raise $400 million in its initial public offering (IPO), building a portfolio of diamonds with a minimum investment of $1 million per stone, and then to wait for prices to increase.

The fund will be headed up by independent commodity asset management firm Diapason Commodities Management, which provides a range of commodity investment solutions to its institutional and high net worth clients.

According to a Reuters report, the closed-end fund will invest in the high-quality segment of the physical polished diamond market, according to a prospectus for the initial public share offer, expected to take place on June 24.

"Catalysts for growth in investment demand are in place for large high-quality diamonds, underpinned by the rising number of high net-worth individuals, especially in the Middle East, Southeast Asia and the Russian Federation," the prospectus for the Diamond Circle fund said.

The prospectus also said that "A steadily declining mineral reserve base, compounded by limited exploration success, suggested tight supplies would continue, which industry analysts say could mean long-term growth for the fund."

MFA Submits Comments On Hedge Fund Committees

Hedge Fund representative, the Managed Funds Association (MFA), has submitted comments on the Best Practices Reports released by the two Committees appointed by the U.S. President’s Working Group on Financial Markets (PWG).

The Asset Managers’ Committee Report and the Investors’ Committee Report provide
guidance for establishing best practices standards for the hedge fund industry and its investors.

"MFA has reviewed thoroughly the Asset Managers’ Committee Report and the Investors’ Committee Report, and we are broadly supportive of both sets of recommendations, which are comprehensive and substantive." Richard H. Baker, MFA President and CEO, said.

Andrew Baker, Deputy CEO of the Alternative Investment Management Association
(AIMA) said, "We fully endorse the responses submitted by MFA to both committees... We are committed to the international harmonisation of sound practices for the alternative investment industry and look forward to leading this global approach with MFA as well as with all other industry stakeholders."

MFA represents members of the the global alternative investment industry. Including professionals in hedge funds, funds of funds and managed futures funds. MFA Members represent the vast majority of the largest hedge fund groups in the world who manage a substantial portion of the approximately $2 trillion invested in absolute return strategies.

Monaco to Host Global Hedge Fund Conference

Hedge fund managers, gurus and 'Out of the box' guest speakers are gathering at the Grimaldi Forum to debate distressed investing issues and macro strategies for 2008.

The 14th Annual Gaim International 2008, a global hedge fund industry conference is being held tomorrow through Thursday in Monaco. The conference has 40 slots over 3 days and will cover issues such as the state of the world economy to strategy and hedge fund philanthropy.

1100 investors, distributors and asset managers are expected at the hedge fund industry’s flagship conference, attracting the largest proportion of asset allocators in hedge funds than any other alternatives event.

Hedge fund experts are scheduled to speak at the meeting, and the guest speakers include former holder of the land speed record, Richard Noble.

The conference is taking place as the $2.6 trillion hedge fund industry confronts poor returns and investor outflows and searches for a follow-up to the favored strategy for 2007, which was taking bets on the explosion in subprime loans.

JPMorgan to Launch European Hedge Fund Into UK

JPMorgan Asset Management is planning to expand one of their European hedge funds into the UK market in the coming weeks, according to FT.

The JPM Highbridge Statistical Market Neutral fund was launched in Luxembourg in 2006 and has had great success from retail investors wanting access to hedge fund techniques. The hedge fund has raised over £5.14 billion ($10 billion ) since November 2006.

Michael Parsons, head of UK retail sales described the offering as being attractive to those who "don't want long exposure in US markets" but are still looking for an attractive investment opportunity, FT said. On the back of the success of this, JPMAM is to distribute the fund in the UK with a sterling hedged share class.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. is a leading global financial services firm with assets of $1.6 trillion and operations in more than 60 countries.

US Hedge Fund to Manage $88 Billion in UK Outsourcing Funds

Leading UK investment manager, Hermes Fund Managers Limited (Hermes), announced the appointment of US hedge fund manager Northern Trust, to provide middle office outsourcing fund administration and custody.

With an anticipated £23 billion ($45 billion) in assets under management, the middle office plans to include the UK's largest Pension Scheme ("BTPS"), which will be in excess of £45 billion ($88 bilion).

As part of the arrangement Northern Trust will also support the launch of Hermes' new range of Dublin-based funds providing trustee, custody, fund accounting and transfer agency services.

"Northern Trust was appointed following a rigorous selection and due diligence process from a short-list of two providers." Rupert Clarke, Chief Executive of Hermes said, "Outsourcing these functions is consistent with our strategy of focusing on growing a specialist investment management business."

Northern Trust, a multibank holding company based in Chicago, has international offices in 15 locations in North America, Europe, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region. Northern Trust had assets under custody of $4.0 trillion, and assets under investment management of $778.6 billion.

Hermes currently has £36.2 billion ($70.4 billion) under management, investing assets on behalf of 206 clients, including pension funds, insurance companies, government entities and financial institutions, as well as charities and endowments.

GGHFI Reports Strong Hedge Fund Performance in May

The Greenwich Global Hedge Fund Index(GGHFI)reported May returns of +2.01% while the Greenwich Composite Investable Index returned +1.66%. The May Index currently includes 1345 constituent funds.

By comparison, the S&P 500 showed gains of +1.29%, while MSCI World Equity and FTSE 100 indices posted returns of +1.11% and -0.56%.

"Across the board, hedge funds performed well in May. But the real story is told when comparing year-to-date performance," notes Margaret Gilbert, Managing Director. "Hedge funds are positive for the year compared to the major equity indices which still remain negative."

For the second month in a row, Long/Short Equity managers were the best performing strategy group, posting a gain of +2.35%. Directional Trading managers, the best performing strategy group so far this year, exhibited another strong month, returning +2.00%.

Specialty Strategy managers were the second-best performing strategy group, returning +2.10% on average. The Market Neutral Group averaged +1.39% on the month as Event Driven managers continued to find opportunities in uncertain markets.

Man Group Invests in Weather and CAT Bond Company

Man Group has agreed to pay $50 million for a 25% stake in Nephila Capital, an alternative investment manager specializing in insurance-based instruments such as insurance linked securities, catastrophe bonds, insurance swaps and weather derivatives.

The CEO of Man Group plc, Peter Clarke, said, "This transaction further develops Man's strategy to expand the range of opportunities for our investors. The natural catastrophe and weather derivative markets offer significant opportunities for uncorrelated alternative investment returns. We are excited at the prospects of this strategic partnership and what it means for our and Nephila's investors."

The investment, which follows Man's purchase of 50% of credit specialist Ore Hill in March, comes as the increasingly competitive hedge fund industry hunts for sources of extra return not correlated with traditional markets.

Bermuda-based Nephila, which manages around $2.4 billion in assets and employs 25 staff, specialises in insurance-based instruments such as insurance-linked securities, catastrophe bonds, insurance swaps and weather derivatives, Man said in a statement on Friday.

Man is a world-leading alternative investment management business. With a broad range of funds for institutional and private investors globally, it is known for its performance, innovative product design and investor service. Man manages over $78 billion and employs 1,600 people in 13 countries worldwide.

AIG and Larch Lane Create Hedge Fund Seeding Deal

Hedge Fund Investor AIG and Advisor Larch Lane have announced the formation of a joint venture to make seed investments in hedge funds. The joint venture seeks to capitalize on synergies between AIG Investments' global alternative investment and hedge fund capabilities and Larch Lane's specialization in hedge fund seeding.

Targets may include hedge fund start-ups, teams leaving established hedge funds, and established hedge funds in need of restructuring. They anticipate investing $50-200 million per deal across a wide range of hedge fund strategies and geographies.

"Talented investors are leaving large hedge funds to start their own businesses, but many of them have not been able to reach their capital targets." Mark Jurish, Larch Lane's CEO said, "The current supply/demand imbalance for start-up hedge fund capital represents the best seeding opportunity I've ever seen"

AIG Investments has been investing in hedge funds for 26 years and currently manages over $10 billion of hedge fund assets. AIG is currently invested in more than 130 hedge funds, including emerging managers. Larch Lane, the alternative investment affiliate of Old Mutual Asset Management, is among the pioneers in the hedge fund seeding business and has made a total of 22 seed investments over the course of the last seven years.

Hedge Fund Expansion Into Development Property

Hedge fund Three Arch Investors has begun buying tracts of abandoned development land in California.

“Property and land values in California have dropped to very low lows and at some stage they will recover." John Godden, managing partner of London-based IGS Group said, “This is the ultimate way to play what everyone knows to be the situation.”

"The price of homes have fallen by a little under 20% over the past year, and land prices have slumped by almost 80%." David Michelson, manager of the California Distressed Land Fund said. “The banks do not want this stuff, they want to get rid of it,” he said.

The fund, which has a target size of $150m to $250m, provides an alternative to commercial property funds or residential property index derivatives for those seeking to benefit from any upswing in the property sector.

Stanley Fink Retires From Man Group

Man Group announced the retirement of hedge fund magnate Stanley Fink, who will not be seeking re-election as a Director. He stepped down from Chief Executive in April of last year to become Deputy Chairman.

Fink joined Man in 1987 and was Chief Executive for seven years till 2000, prior to which he ran the investment management business.

"I have spent more than 21 years at Man Group, and have been on the Board for all but the first six months of that time," Stanley Fink said regarding his time with Man Group, "during which the company has undergone immense change which has seen it emerge as a leading player in the alternative asset management industry."

Fink also said, "I have many commercial and philanthropic interests outside Man Group to which I am increasingly committed and I am eager to pursue these, and other new opportunities, more fully."

Man is the leading global alternative investment management business, the original business being founded in 1783. It is ranked in the top 40 companies of the FTSE 100 Index with a market capitalisation of about $20 billion.

AdultVest Hedge Fund Acquires iPorn

Francis Koenig, Chairman of AdultVest Inc., announced the acquisition of iPorn.com. The acquisition coincides with the firm’s online marketplace topping $7 Billion in available capital for adult industry related investments.

"We are very excited about the acquisition… Investors in our Priapus Investment Fund, LLC are extremely pleased to be a part of this landmark purchase. We have very big plans for iPorn. This acquisition is a natural fit." says Koenig.

With AdultVest growing at the rate of $300 Million per week, they last year launched the Bacchus Investment Fund and the Priapus Investment Fund, both also aimed at attracting the open-minded investor and the billions of dollars spent on adult entertainment in North America every year.

Koening says, "Transparency and liquidity builds credibility and investor confidence, which ultimately drives the price of a company higher. I believe this is the formula to unlocking value in some of the adult industry’s hidden gems. Wait till you see what we have in store."

Another feature that will appeal to investors, Koening says, is that the firm does not take its performance fee until 100% of the capital is returned to its clients.

Jupiter Fund Launch

Hedge fund manager Jupiter Asset Management announced the launch on June second 2008 of the of the Jupiter Strategic Bond Fund.

The new fund is Sterling denominaterd with a 4% initial fee and 1.25% as annual management charge. The minimum investment is a lump sum of £500 ($896.2), or monthly saving of £50 ($98.6).

The Fund, which has received approval from the FSA, is aimed at investors with a medium to long term outlook seeking income with potential for capital growth. The fund, which has a target yield of 7%, will offer a wide spectrum in terms of appetite for risk, with the ability to switch from a conservative to aggressive stance depending on circumstances.

The Fund will be managed as a 'go-anywhere' fund, aiming to achieve long term capital growth from investing in all areas of the credit ratings market. It will be managed by Ariel Bezalel, who has 10 years experience working in credit markets at Jupiter. He currently manages the fixed interest components of three unit trusts - Jupiter Global Managed, Jupiter High Income and Jupiter Monthly Income.

Bezalel said, "The investment grade market is pricing in a severe recession and the high yield market is pricing in a sharp rise in defaults. Whilst I am cautious on the economic outlook, current valuations seem to offer potentially handsome rewards for the risk. This situation, in my view, presents the most compelling investment opportunity in credit we have seen for many years."

Jupiter Unit Trust Managers Limited (JUTM) and Jupiter Asset Management Limited (JAM) are both are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The group is collectively known as "Jupiter".

Blackstone Launches Asia Hedge Fund

The Blackstone Group announced that Aaron Nieman will be launching Blackstone Altius Advisors, a new event-driven strategy focusing on opportunities in the Asia Pacific region. A global, highly experienced investment team will be headquartered in Hong Kong, with additional professionals based in Tokyo, Mumbai, and New York.

Nieman joined Blackstone from S.A.C. Capital Management, where he was a Managing Director in the Canvas Capital Management division.

"As Blackstone continues to aggressively seek opportunities within Asia, Aaron and his team will provide additional investment capability that will bolster our presence in the region." said Antony Leung, Chairman of Blackstone Greater China.

"Blackstone has a superior global alternative investment platform. It also employs some of the best professionals in the industry. The synergies that exist within Blackstone's various businesses will provide us with a significant advantage investing in the Asia Pacific markets," said Aaron Nieman, Senior Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer of Altius Advisors.

In addition to Blackstone Altius Advisors, Blackstone's other businesses in Asia include its corporate private equity fund (Blackstone Capital Partners), its real estate opportunity fund (Blackstone Real Estate Partners), its fund of hedge funds business and two closed-end mutual funds (The India Fund and The Asia Tigers Fund).

Hedge Fund Suicide

Kirk Sean Wright, CEO of hedge fund International Management Associates of Atlanta hanged himself in a Union City jail cell Saturday night.

Wright was convicted by a federal jury on 47 counts of mail fraud, securities fraud and money laundering, stemming from a scam run through his hedge fund, International Management Associates. He collected between $115 million and $185 million for his hedge fund from at least 500 investors since 1997.

The FBI in association with the IRS, DOJ and SEC investigated why requests by current and former NFL players for their funds were ignored.

Wright maintained his innocence until the end, contending that simple mis-management was to blame for his investors' losses.

FoHF's Join Forces to Launch Motion Picture Fund

New York based fund of hedge funds (FoHF) Ginepri Capital, and SAGA Capital, an alternative investments advisory firm, announced a newly formed venture, the SAGA/Ginepri Alpha Fund that focuses on the structuring of complex film slates and debt portfolios in the motion picture space.

"Film investors will increasingly employ new techniques commonly used by investment banks, advisory firms and hedgers to analyze the risk/return profiles of potential securities investments." S.K. Dean, Managing Partner of Ginepri Capital added.

SG Alpha Fund will focus on the financing, analysis and securitization of mid to high budget independent films with committed distribution.

Both FoHF contributed significant proprietary risk capital to the new venture, SG Funds will be syndicating $400 million in debt, between a group of New York and European investment banks, to leverage committed capital. The company will only green-light investments using the proprietary Movie Alpha Model.

"We are very enthusiastic about our association with Ginepri for the design, valuation, production and distribution of film portfolios and related acquisitions." Ralf Voellmer, SAGA President stated.

With a strong emphasis in analyzing the risk/returns in developed economies and emerging markets, the management team of SAGA has significant expertise in financial modeling, including analysis and securitization of deals with embedded credit risk, market risk, and operational risk.

False Asset Statments Lead to Conviction

Kirk Wright's Atlanta-based hedge fund company, International Management Associates was found to be fraudlent leading to the conviction of the manager, Wright, as the Department of Justice unsealed a March 10 criminal complaint against him.

"The complaint alleges a fraud involving $150 million to $180 million in missing investor assets managed by Wright's funds, International Management Associates and International Management Associates Advisory Group," said U.S. Attorney David Nahmias in a statement.

The federal complaint charges mail fraud, executed by mailing a set of false asset statements to IMA investor Stephen Atwater. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 on conviction.

According to authorities, Wright and his company collected more than $150 million spread across thousands of client accounts since 1997 and used false statements and documents to mislead some of them to believe the value of those investments was increasing.

Sentencing is set for August 26.

April 2008 Hedge Fund Performance

Hedge funds started the second quarter of 2008 on a strong note as global stock markets recovered, according to Singapore-based hedge fund research company Eurekahedge.

"The Fed's aggressive response to the weakness across credit markets and the slowing of economic growth in the U.S. went some way in improving investor sentiment during April," Eurekahedge said on their website.

"Rallying equity markets, on the back of a sharp increase in risk appetites, coupled with market reversals across some other asset classes, such as bonds and currencies, were factors responsible for the month's gain," Eurekahedge said.

The MSCI World Index jumped 5% in April, completing the best month since November 2004, as confidence returned following the U.S. subprime loan crisis.

Eurekahedge pointed to Japanese managers as the best performers in April, with the Eurekahedge Japan Hedge Fund Index advancing 3.5%. The report showed similar gains with the Asia Ex-Japan index climbing 2.8%.

The Eurekahedge North American Hedge Fund Index added 1.5%, while the index tracking European hedge funds rose 1.4%. Managers of funds using so-called long-short equity strategies were the best performers because of gains in global stock markets.

Eurekahedge was launched by experienced members of the investment banking community for the hedge fund and investment community. The Eurekahedge Hedge Fund Index tracks the performance of 2,230 funds that invest globally.

Hedge Fund Manager Charged With Fraud

William Galvin, Massachusetts' top securities regulator has charged the hedge fund manager of the River Stream Fund with improperly soliciting investors.

The investigation also turned up a brokerage statement that showed the fund had $1,625 in its account in April. Regan had said he ran $15 million. The regulator said investors who entrusted their savings to Regan feared the money is now lost.

Investigators found River Stream client data thrown into a dumpster near an empty office where Regan said he worked. Wiliam Galvin, whose job includes protecting investors in Massachusetts, has waged aggressive campaigns against anyone caught trying to cheat investors.

HedgeCo Networks LLC Secures Major Outside Investment from Inter-Atlantic Group

HedgeCo Networks LLC has received its first major outside investment from Inter- Atlantic Group, a private equity firm specializing in the financial services sector. The capital will be used by HedgeCo to expand business operations in both their New York City and West Palm Beach locations, as well as to break out into new verticals of the hedge fund industry.

"We are extremely excited that Inter-Atlantic has taken an interest in us, and are eager to take HedgeCo to the next level," says Evan Rapoport, Managing Partner and Co-Founder of HedgeCo Networks. "The vote of confidence that they've instilled in us further fuels our existing drive to be the leading name in the hedge fund service industry."

Inter-Atlantic currently invests in a handful of small to mid-size companies. The companies are chosen after a careful evaluation and determination of potential growth and market reach.

"Inter-Atlantic believes the hedge fund industry is a high growth sector with tremendous potential," says Inter-Atlantic Managing Partner Andrew Lerner. "Rather than investing in a hedge fund itself, Inter-Atlantic chose to invest in one of the premier service providers to hedge funds. We like HedgeCo's international reach, position as a top tier portal and recurring fee revenue model."

About HedgeCo Networks
HedgeCo Networks manages HedgeCo.Net, the premier Hedge Fund Database and Information Portal, along with nine other websites devoted to alternative investments. With over 25,000 active members, HedgeCo.Net provides a platform for hedge fund managers, investors and service providers.

HedgeCo also offers a vast array of services, including hedge fund website design, consultation, third party marketing and seeding. The company has consulted or helped to launch over 500 new hedge funds, both onshore and offshore. HedgeCo Networks was founded in 2001 by Evan Rapoport and Andrew Schneider. For more information, visit HedgeCoNetworks.com.

About Inter-Atlantic Group
Inter-Atlantic Group seeks to identify and create private equity investment opportunities throughout the broad financial services industry, one of the largest segments of the US economy. Specific sectors include financial technology, banking, insurance, asset management and service providers to the financial services industry. Typical investments range from $3 million - $10 million. Inter-Atlantic is principally focused on US and Bermuda opportunities but considers investment opportunities worldwide. For more information, visit InterAtlanticGroup.com.

Time Out

Hi readers, I have been absent for the last couple of weeks as I was in a pretty serious accident. However all is well that ends well and I'm back now.

Please feel free to send me any new hedge fund stories you think are important and I might have missed. I do appreciate reader input. Anyhow, now Ill get back to my news scans. Its good to be back!

Man Launches Futures and Emerging Markets Fund

Hedge fund Man Investments has launched Man Vision Ltd., with structured notes investing equally in AHL, Man's flagship managed futures fund, and RMF Investment Management, the hedge fund operator's Swiss-based fund of hedge funds business targeting emerging markets and managers.

"We are seeing significant changes in world capital flows," said Peter Clarke, chief executive of Man Group plc, in a statement. "Man Vision Index Notes is an exciting gateway to access the new investment opportunities which arise. By combining AHL and RMF, Man Vision Index Notes offers access to these opportunities through a single product." The note is designed to offer high-security access to developing markets, the effect of changing demographics, climate change and future sources of energy.

AHL employs systematic, statistically based investment processes to identify inefficiencies in more than 120 markets around the world. RMF uses proprietary research to select specialist hedge fund managers in new fields to create multi-manager portfolios.

The launch of Man Vision is expected to be among the hedge fund's biggest new product launches of 2008. With a minimum investment of $50,000, the new fund will target exposure to a range of markets and investment strategies, including Asian and emerging markets, commodities, environmental and energy markets, event-driven and health care.

Hedge Fund Chief Elected to Hedge Fund Association Board of Directors

Jay B. Howard, Portfolio Manager & Chief Investment Officer of hedge fund Leonard Asset Management (LAM), has been elected to serve on the 2008 Board of Directors for the Hedge Fund Association (HFA).

HFA is an international not-for-profit association of hedge fund managers, investors, and service providers formed to unite the hedge fund industry and increase awareness of the advantages and opportunities in hedge funds. Members of the HFA Board of Directors are elected and chosen by other HFA members. As one of the HFA Directors, Howard will endeavor to further the HFA mission by increasing awareness of the HFA within the hedge fund community.

Howard is the founder of the alternative investment practice at LAM, his career in the investment and finance industry spans over ten years. He graduated with honors from the University of Dallas with a master’s degree in business administration and graduated cum laude from Augustana College in Rock Island, IL with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. He is an affiliate member of the CFA Institute, a member of the Financial Services Institute, and is a Registered Financial Consultant (RFC™). Active in the industry, he regularly attends and has spoken at alternative investment industry events.

Leonard Asset Management, Inc. is an SEC Registered Investment Advisor that specializes in alternative investments. LAM is under common ownership with Leonard & Company, a federally registered securities broker-dealer and an SEC Registered Investment Advisor. Founded in 1989, Leonard & Company is a regional investment firm providing full service brokerage services, with offices across Michigan in Birmingham, Grand Rapids, Grosse Pointe Farms, Sterling Heights, Troy, and in New York and Colorado.

Missouri Attorney General Seeks To Halt Hedge Fund ‘Gambling On Grain’

Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon is urging the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the federal agency that regulates futures markets, to take action to protect consumers and farmers by reducing the influence of pension funds, hedge funds, and other futures speculators.

"Farming already brings enough uncertainty without the introduction of outside players into the sensitive markets in which farmers sell their goods," said Nixon in a letter to CFTC Chairman Walter Lukken. "I urge the CFTC to step in and reduce the influence of speculators and give farmers the benefit of the bargained-for price on these contracts."

He asked to put a halt to price manipulation, as, "Farmers are not getting the full benefit of their hard work, and consumers are experiencing sticker shock in the cereal aisle," Nixon said. "Much of this is because speculators, who are neither producers nor consumers, are manipulating prices, and they are the primary beneficiaries. Wall Street gambling on grain hasn't had a positive impact on Main Street, Missouri."

According to Nixon's letter, many Missouri farmers sell their commodities on futures contracts, which require them to deliver a quantity of goods on a particular date. These contracts have a fixed price and protect farmers from fluctuations in market prices between planting time and harvest time.

In recent years, however, pension funds, hedge funds, and other speculators have flooded commodities markets by buying futures contracts. Unlike other commodities buyers, speculators use these contracts as a way to game the market and do not actually receive the commodities they contract for.

The CFTC is holding a roundtable discussion on this and other issues today, and Nixon's letter will be included in the agency's record. The CTFC was created by Congress in 1974 as an independent agency with the mandate to regulate commodity futures and option markets in the U.S.

Alex Akesson
Editor for HedgeCo LLC
Email: alex@hedgeco.net

HedgeCo.Net is a premier hedge fund database and community for qualified and accredited investors only. Membership on www.hedgeco.net is FREE and EASY. We also offer FREE LISTINGS for Hedge Funds!
Be sure to check out our sister sites. For more information, visit www.hedgeconetworks.com

Emerging Makets to Showcase Islamic Finance Initiatives in IFSB Summit

Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong are participating in the country showcases which will be held prior to the 5th Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) summit, on 12th May 2008 in Amman, Jordan.

The country showcases are part of this annual summit hosted by the Central Bank of Jordan. The summit will be held under the Royal Patronage of Her Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah, themed 'Financial Globalisation and Islamic Financial Services'.

Professor Rifaat Ahmed Abdel Karim, IFSB's Secretary General said, "This is our second year of introducing the country showcases as a pre-summit event. The IFSB is happy to provide this platform for its member countries to showcase their individual country initiatives and policies on Islamic financial services."

The country showcases will run concurrently with another pre-summit event, namely a public hearing on two IFSB Exposure Drafts: 1) Governance for Islamic Collective Investment Schemes and 2) Capital Adequacy Requirements for Sukuk Securitisation and Real Estate Investment, which were issued in December 2007 for public consultation as part of the IFSB due process for preparing its standards and guidelines.

The IFSB is an international organisation that promotes the soundness and stability of the Islamic financial services industry by issuing global prudential standards and guiding principles for the industry, broadly defined to include banking, capital markets and insurance sectors.

The IFSB currently has 164 members comprising 41 banking, securities and insurance regulatory and supervisory authorities, 6 international inter-governmental organisations and 117 market players and professional firms from over 31 jurisdictions.

Connecticut Hedge Fund Association Member Joins Bracewell & Giuliani

Bracewell & Giuliani LLP has appointed hedge fund specialist John A. Brunjes as partner in their Private Investment Funds practice.

“Connecticut is home to hundreds of hedge, private equity and other alternative investment funds, as well as a number of the country's largest institutional investors,” said Evan Flaschen, the Connecticut-based chair of the firm’s Financial Restructuring Group. “John is a leader in the hedge fund community and a great addition to our highly-regarded private investment funds practice in New York and our premier national and international financial restructuring practice,” added Mr. Flaschen.

Brunjes is to handle law matters for institutional and individual investors, investment funds, and fund managers, as well as for public and private operating companies. His practice focuses on private equity, venture capital and hedge fund formation, operations, and investment transactions, with particular emphasis on advising private domestic and offshore pooled investment funds and managed accounts and their stakeholders. He also advises funds and operating companies on state, federal, and international compliance and enforcement considerations.

In the managed funds sector, Brunjes has formed and represents institutionally-sponsored and entrepreneur-organized hedge funds ranging in size from smaller funds with state-registered advisers, to larger domestic and international funds and funds of funds with billions of dollars in assets under management.

Brunjes has served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Finance and Antitrust Divisions under Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, during which time he was Connecticut’s primary securities enforcement lawyer.

Bracewell & Giuliani LLP is a prominent international law firm with more than 400 lawyers in Texas, New York, Washington, DC, Connecticut, Dubai, Kazakhstan and London.

Hedge Funds Care Announces Benefit Gala

The Midwest Chapter of Hedge Funds Care (HFC) announced its sixth annual benefit, “Open Your Heart to the Children”. Organizers of the black tie gala hope to top the $900,000 which was raised at last year’s event.

More than 500 members of the alternative investments community and their guests are expected to attend this year’s benefit. They will be treated to food, music and silent and live auctions. The latter will include a lavish U.S. Open Tennis package, an “instant” wine collection comprised of more than 100 bottles of fine wine, storage and an in-home tasting party with a professional sommelier, and passage to the Hollywood premier of Will Smith’s upcoming movie “Hancock”.

One unique and special live auction item will be created before attendee’s eyes over the course of the benefit —an oil painting by noted Los Angeles artist Scott Glazier which will be taken home by one generous bidder.

“This great event, with all of the very attractive auction items, will raise much needed funds to support children who are suffering from abuse and neglect which is a widespread national tragedy and a serious problem in our local communities,” said Melinda Kramer, Co-Chairperson of the HFC Midwest Chapter. “Hedge Funds Care is doing its part to help children in these situations and to prevent them. Our industry members are very passionate about making a difference which is demonstrated by their generous donation of money, time and talent,” she continued.

HFC is a global organization composed of concerned alternative investment industry professionals committed to protecting children from abuse and neglect. To date, the Midwest chapter of HFC, based in Chicago, has distributed more than $2.6 million in 73 grants for the cause. HFC works with select local agencies and programs that can best serve the needs of these children. Grants are made through a rigorous process to insure that their funds have the highest impact possible.

Established in 1998, Hedge Funds Care is an alliance of concerned hedge fund industry professionals committed to protecting children from abuse and neglect. The group includes accountants, attorneys, fund managers, information providers, investors and prime brokers. The Midwest chapter, founded in 2002, has raised $2.7 million to combat child abuse and neglect throughout the Midwest region.

Hedge Fund Man Investments Launches Own Product

Man Investments announced the launch of Man Vision Index Notes, 'We are seeing significant changes in world capital flows,' says Man Group chief executive Peter Clarke.'

The launch centers on a capital-guaranteed hedge fund product that seeks to benefit from the key developments of the future including the growth of emerging markets, the impact of new demographics, climate change and future sources of energy, all of which the firm says offer significant return potential.

Man Vision Index Notes combines the complementary approaches of two of the group's hedge fund managers, AHL and RMF. AHL employs systematic, statistically-based investment processes to identify inefficiencies in more than 120 markets around the world, while RMF applies strategic research and innovation to select specialist hedge fund managers in new fields to create multi-manager portfolios

Man Vision targets an investment exposure of 150% of net asset value, allocating equally to AHL and RMF across a wide range of markets and investment strategies including Asian and emerging markets, commodities, environmental and energy markets, event-driven and health care.

Man Vision will be open for investment from until June 3, with a possibility of extension, with a minimum subscription of $50,000 or EUR 50,000, and a maturity date of December 31, 2020.

Man Investments is one of the world's largest providers of hedge fund investments with a 25-year record in alternative investments and an estimated $75 billion under management. Part of London-listed Man Group, the firm employs some 1,600 people at its investment centres in London and Pfäffikon, Switzerland, and offices in Chicago, Hong Kong, Dubai, Dublin, Miami, Montevideo, Nassau, New York, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo and Toronto.

Top 50 Hedge Fund Blogs

UBS Reports Hedge Fund Losses

UBS issued a Shareholder Report detailing the key facts relating to the firm’s positions and losses through December 31, 2007. In the summary the Swiss bank says thats it's massive subprime losses were the result of excessive risk-taking and insufficient controls.

UBS said that three of its business units are principally to blame for the losses totaling $37.4 billion over the past nine months.

UBS pinpoints a series of failures that began with its now-defunct U.S.-based hedge fund Dillon Read Capital Management. "The closure of DRCM should have been a basis for a more comprehensive review and assessment of all subprime [debt] positions in the investment bank, and for a review of UBS's risk assessment processes in connection with the same," the bank said in the report.

Other mistakes include a short-term investment outlook and a failure to appreciate the severity of the American housing crisis early on.

UBS made the summary of its report to the Swiss banking regulator public because of pressure from Ethos Fund, an activist shareholder.

UBS Teams Up With Hedge Fund Enso To Create Alternative Fund

UBS AG is teaming with $600 million hedge fund, Enso Capital Management LLC, creating UBS Enso Management LLC. The new fund will pursue alternative stock investment strategies, the companies said in a joint statement.

UBS clients qualified as institutional investors will be able to invest in the fund, UBS Enso will invest both long and short in a broad range of global equity securities. The fund's investment objective is to achieve consistent risk-adjusted returns that are uncorrelated to both general market indices and hedge fund indices, while at the same time preserving capital and minimizing downside risk and volatility.

"We are excited to be aligning Enso with the exceptional wealth management platform at UBS," said Josh Fink, CEO and Chief Investment Officer of Enso. "Partnering with UBS, a recognized leader in the management and distribution of over $100 billion in alternative investment assets, creates a unique and powerful opportunity to expand our global investor base."

The companies said portfolio managers from Enso will manage the fund's investments while UBS will oversee their activities. It said UBS Enso "will seek to identify unusual investment ideas in niche industries that may be overlooked by typical analytical methods."

Founded in 2002, Enso is an investment management firm based in New York that invests in both public and private companies globally, with over $600 million in assets under management. Roughly two-thirds of the portfolios Enso currently manages are allocated outside of North America.

UBS is present in all major financial centers worldwide. It has offices in 50 countries, employing more than 80,000 people around the world. Its shares are listed on the SWX Swiss Exchange (SWX), the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE).

Hedge Fund Bayou Group Founder Sentenced To 20 Years

U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon has now sentenced the founder of hedge fund Bayou Group, Samuel Israel, to 20 years in prison. Daniel Marino, the former finance chief was also sentenced to 20 years back in January.

The judge said of Israel at the sentencing, "You were, in every meaning of the sense, a career criminal, you ruined lives,...Financial fraud, white-collar crimes are every bit as heinous as every other type of crime and they will be punished severely."

Hedge fund founder Samuel Israel III and finance chief Daniel Marino pleaded guilty in 2005 to using fake results and a phony auditing firm. Investors lost approximately $400 million according to court papers, but the government put the loss at over $450 million.

Samuel Israel must also pay $300 million in restitution for masterminding a “ponzi scheme” in which investment returns were paid with new investors’ money. His sentence is the longest for a white-collar crime since Enron.

The co-founder James G. Marquez was also implicated in the conspiracy and was sentenced to 51 months in prison.

The World's Ultra-Rich List

The Family Office Organisation has just released the 3rd Edition of "The 3300 Global Family Office Database 2008", with 1800 entries from the USA and 1240 from Europe.

The world's ultra-rich families have established these 'Family Offices' to ensure that their wealth is preserved for future generations. The annual cost to manage a Family Office can exceed $2 million. However, assets - under-management would normally exceed $500 million and well into the Billions.

Family Offices started to evolve in the late 1800s - early 1900s on the sale of major family businesses during the industrial revolution. Instead of dividing the proceeds to the family siblings at that time. European aristocratic families had similar set-ups, called Estate Offices; many are still in existence to this day. However at that time, as now, most European families were predominately major land owners.

Family Offices do not invest in the kind of retail financial products one finds on the High-Street. Like financial institutions, they invest in "High-Risk / High Return" investments and tend to retain a mixed portfolio of investments, primarily in alternative investments such as Hedge Funds, Private Equity, Bonds, Equities, Commodities (such as gold), Futures & Options and Currency Trading to justify a higher rate of return. Real estate investments and shareholdings will of course remain a key part of their portfolio.

Since 1989, The Family Office Organisation has researched the world's ultra-rich families in depth. Since 2005, this research has been more keenly focused on Family Offices for the benefit of financial institutions and fund managers across the globe.

UK Hedge Fund Faces SEC Lawsuit

UK hedge fund Headstart Advisers Ltd. is facing a SEC suit alleging the hedge fund earned $198m in profits by manipulating U.S. mutual funds through late-trading and deceptive market-timing practices from 1998 through to 2003.

The suit, filed on Thursday by the Securities and Exchange Commission, is the second one this week filed against a British hedge fund for allegedly orchestrating a scheme to defraud US mutual funds.

In the civil action suit, filed in New York, the SEC said that Headstart and Najy Nasser, its then chief investment adviser, illegally profited by buying and selling mutual funds more frequently than allowed, sometimes after prices had been closed for the day.

Headstart had assets under management of at least $500m, according to the SEC filing.

Florida Hedge Fund Sues Citigroup

Hedge fund Falcon Strategies Two B LLC, is suing a business unit of Citigroup, accusing the financial giant of failing to disclose a change in risk, causing the West Palm Beach hedge fund to loose more than 40% of its value.

The hedge fund's law firm filed the suit in the U.S. District Court in Southern Florida on behalf of all purchasers of the hedge fund between Sept. 30, 2005 and Jan. 8, 2008. It is seeking class-action status and compensation and punitive damages.

The suit alleges Citigroup Alternative Investment LLC marketed the fund as low-risk and low-volatility, and then defrauded investors by failing to disclose its change to a far riskier investment strategy. The suit further alleges that the fund's management did so to increase income from its "exorbitant fees."

According to the suit, S&P had assigned the fund a S2 volatility rating. Ratings are given on a scale from S1 to S6, with S1 representing the lowest risk. On Jan. 8 S&P changed the rating to S5. The suit claims management had switched to riskier instruments without informing the investors.

The 18-page, four-count suit, accuses the defendants of: fraud, violations of the Florida Blue Sky Law, negligent misrepresentation and violation of the 1933 Securities Act.

Alex Akesson
Editor for HedgeCo.Net
Email: alex@hedgeco.net

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Goodman To Raise $500 Million For Asia Fund Launch

Australia based hedge fund and global property manager, Goodman Property Investors, is raising funds for a $500 million Asia Pacific fund of funds(FoF).

The new FoF will invest in established real estate funds across Asia, it has a target annual return of 14% and will invest in the traditional office, retail and industrial sectors as well as specialist sectors such as residential.

Andrew Smith, Head of Investment Strategy and Deputy Managing Director of Goodman Property Investors said, "We are launching this product in response to increasing demand from institutional investors for exposure to real estate in the Asia Pacific region." He said, "This demand reflects both the increasing appetite for cross-border property investment, and the current performance and diversification opportunities the region now offers."

With offices in Australia, Belgium, China, Czech Republic France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Poland, Spain, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom, Goodman Property Investors has in excess of $13.8 billion in assets under management as of December 31.

Hedge Fund Services Group Formed By RBC

RBC Capital Markets, the hedge fund arm of the Royal Bank of Canada, has formed the RBC Global Prime Services Group to provide support to hedge fund managers, mutual fund managers and institutional asset managers.

Jeremy Frommer, head of RBC Global Prime Services said, "We recognize that the lines between hedge fund and traditional institutional managers are becoming more obscure as their needs become more similar....We decided to break down silos by bringing together, under a single umbrella, everything from prime brokerage to trading technology, securities lending to capital introductions, as well as financing."

The Global Prime Services Group, which has made a substantial investment in technology this year, has seen a 20% increase in clients and a related increase in assets under management in the past six months. It has also recently launched he RBC Capital Introduction Group, the RBC Emerging Manager Allocator platform, and the RBC Global Futures & Base Metals Group.

RBC Capital Markets is the corporate and investment banking arm of the Royal Bank of Canada (RCB). Its North American platform includes a significant U.S. middle market investment banking franchise and leading equity, underwriting, sales, trading and research businesses. Bloomberg ranks the firm as one of the top 15 investment banks globally.

Asia's Top Ten Hedge Funds

Asia's 10 largest hedge fund managers based on reported or estimated assets under management (AUM) as of March 31, 2007, according to a ranking by Alpha Magazine.


1. Sparx Group Co Ltd $6.7 billion

2. Value Partners Group $4.8 billion

3. Arisaig Partners $2.1 billion

4. Penta Investment Advisers $1.9 billion

5. Ward Ferry Management $1.8 billion

6. Lapp Capital $1.4 billion

7. Tree Line Investment Management $1.3 billion

8. Artradis Fund Management $1.2 billion

9. Tantallon Capital $1.1 billion

10. Asuka Asset Management $1.0 billion

Chada Launches Alternative Investment Division In London

European hedge fund advisor Carne Global Financial Services Group has announced the launch of alternative investment and wealth management technology and operational consultancy divisions in London.

Chief executive John Donohoe said, "The entire fund management industry - both traditional and alternative - is experiencing high demand for expertise in risk management and technology, particularly with the convergence of those industries with wealth management."

Carne said the new divisions add technology capabilities to the group's existing operational services and capitalise on its established presence within the hedge fund management industry. Carne also annonced the recruitment of Sunil Chadda and Phil Kitto.

Chadda joins Carne as head of alternative investments, he is previously of London-based financial systems consultancy Citisoft, where he was head of the hedge funds and derivatives practice for the past three years.

Kitto also joins Carne from Citisoft to lead the new global wealth management and private client division, after after a career including spells with UBS, Baring Asset Management and Mercury Asset Management.

The firm now advises more than 100 clients that oversee more than $200bn in assets, and has more than 40 staff in Dublin, London and Luxembourg, Chada offers expertise in hedge fund establishment, directorship programmes and hedge fund management operational and compliance services.

Hedge Fund Panel to Discuss Future of Advertising

A high-level panel of hedge fund experts are planing a forum to discuss and debate the state of hedge fund advertising and marketing in the alternative investment management community.

Panel-participant Phil Goldstein, the plaintiff who single-handedly defeated a plan to require hedge funds to register with the SEC, has even discussed suing the SEC on First Amendment grounds, which could lead to major changes in the industry.

The 1,600-member Managed Funds Association, represented on the panel by Benjamin Allensworth, senior legal counsel, has long advocated for a loosening of the SEC's restrictions.

Jay Gould, head of the Investment Funds Practice at Pillsbury said, "Hedge funds typically rely on provisions of the securities laws that prohibit general communications with the public, as those provisions are interpreted by the SEC, and also because legal counsel has drilled them on the need to 'fly below the radar' and keep their investment strategies solely for qualified investors."

"The panel also will discuss what hedge funds can and should do to effectively market themselves, while staying within SEC guidelines." Gould concluded.

Other forum participants are: Pillsbury's Terry Davis, who will provide a regulatory update; and Richard Dukas, president & CEO of Dukas Public Relations, which has long provided proactive publicity and media relations services to top hedge funds.

The panel is set to meet April 16th at the law offices of Pillsbury in San Francisco.

Blackstone Creates Fund Worth Over 10 Billion

Hedge fund Blackstone Group L.P. announced the closing of Blackstone Real Estate Partners VI (BREP VI) with capital commitments totaling $10.9 billion, creating the largest real estate opportunity fund ever raised.

The new fund has more then 60 investment and asset management professionals with broad experience across most real estate categories, including hotels, office, residential, retail, and other commercial properties.

The hedge fund firm has raised a total of nine real estate funds since inception, both funds for global investing and funds with a specific focus on Western Europe, with total capital commitments of $25.7 billion

Jonathan Gray, Senior Managing Director and New York-based co-head of Blackstone's real estate group, said, "We are delighted to have this vote of confidence from our investors. We believe there should be attractive investment opportunities for this capital given the market dislocation that exists today." Chad Pike, Senior Managing Director and London-based co-head of Blackstone's real estate group added, "With this fund we will be able to enter new markets and expand Blackstone's global investment activities."

The Blackstone Group L.P. is a leading global alternative asset manager and provider of financial advisory services. Its alternative asset management businesses include the management of corporate private equity funds, real estate funds, funds of hedge funds, mezzanine funds, senior debt vehicles, proprietary hedge funds and closed-end mutual funds.

In the past several years Blackstone has completed a number of major transactions including Equity Office Properties, Hilton Hotels, CarrAmerica, Wyndham Hotels, Trizec Properties and Southern Cross / NHP. The group has completed more then 225 separate investments in North America and Europe with a total transaction value of approximately $132 billion since 1992. Most recently the group opened offices in Tokyo, Mumbai and Hong Kong to expand Blackstone's real estate business in Asia.

Former Secretary of State for Texas To Host Entreprenurial Funding Conference

Hedge fund weath manager CACH Capital Management announced that former Secretary of State for Texas and current co-founder & Chairman Honorable, Geoffrey S. Connor will be a Keynote at the Central Texas Entrepreneur Funding Symposium.

The conference provides entrepreneurs access to experts and information to educate them on how to adequately fund their businesses. His keynote address, "Texas and the Global Economy", will pull from his extensive experience with the process of investment capital procurement, providing entrepreneurs with priceless insight on their funding issues.

The event will include panel sessions as well as breakout sessions. CACH Capital Management President and CEO, Michael Hundley, will be a featured speaker sharing his insight on private equity as an alternative source of funding. Mr. Hundley, a well-regarded and award winning manager in the financial services industry, often consults early stage companies helping them become "capital ready". His expertise in institutional sales and service management extends worldwide.

Central Texas entrepreneurs are already signing up for the Funding Symposium which takes place on April 18th, at the JJ Pickle Center.

CACH Capital Management, LLC, a Texas-based global wealth management firm, manages portfolios, global hedge funds and business advisory services. Each CACH team member has been selected for the specialized expertise he brings to the firm. The human capital of CACH Capital represents over 50 years of investment experience and over 100 years of combined expertise in the business, legal and financial fields.

Hedge Fund Man Group Exceeds Expectations

Hedge fund manager Man Group plc announced that is "Extremely well placed to see continued strong growth." In a statment regarding its close period for the year, Man said, "This is a very strong set of results, achieved through a period of significant market turmoil."

Funds under management have risen to around $75 billion, it is anticipated that profit for the year ending 31 March 2008 will be ahead of market expectations.

Man Group's most recent fund launch, which starts trading 1 April, raised $1 billion and has been included in FUM of $75 billion for the year to 31 March 2008.

Peter Clarke, CEO of Man Group, said, "Strong sales momentum has been maintained with sales of $15.8 billion in the year. Good performance has added $5.3 billion to investor assets during a period when global markets were exceptionally volatile."

Indian Market For Data Growing, With Hedge Fund Company In The Lead

New York Top 5 hedge fund Och-Ziff's firm Ctrl S. Data Centers, said it is planning to invest $250 million to open four data centres in the country in next 2-3 years.

"We are planning to open four data centres in Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai by 2010 which would entail an investment of 250 million dollars," Ctrl S Data Centers Chairman and Managing Director S. Reddy said.

The Asian Data Centre market is predicted to increase by a compound annual growth rate of 11.5% over the period from 2006 to 2010, with India becoming the fastest growing market.

He said the data centre industry in the country is expected to grow, with nearly 1,700 square feet data centre space expected to be created in India by 2010.

Hyderabad-based Ctrl S Data Centers is promoted by the Rs 500-crore Pioneer Group along with IDBI and hedge fund Och-Ziff.